Infographic: Why you should slow your RoI measurements

With increasingly long buyer cycles, slow RoI measurements are the way to go for the wait and watch tactic that can help you make better decisions. The timing of that analysis matters, so do factors that are considered while one is working on it.

Measuring RoI is key for analysing efforts and predicting their impact. They help companies make better decisions, especially when it comes to setting aside budgets and allocating resources. This means that it is just as important to know when to calculate that RoI. The timing of that analysis matters, so do factors that are considered while one is working on it. If you were to be hasty in analysing growth, you could be hindering the potential of an idea/task/campaign. Thus, this guide makes a case for why you should slow your RoI measurements.

As a B2B marketer, one must ensure that the measurement strategies being used have been updated to adapt as per the increasingly lengthy and complex buyer's journey, especially now when the impacts of the pandemic are bound to stay around for a foreseeable future — adding barriers to action for decision-makers. This might lead to longer sale cycles with much more potential opportunities where sellers can reach buyers with helpful content — influencing their decisions.

Why B2B ROI Measurement Is Caught in a Disconnect

As per LinkedIn's internal data, 77% of marketers are measuring ROI within the first month of their campaign, knowingly trying to “prove ROI in a shorter amount of time than their typical sales cycle.” Of those marketers, 55% admitted that they had a sales cycle of three months or more. And, only 4% of marketers even measure ROI over a six-month period or longer. This is a problem that is growing direr in our current environment.

How Can Marketers Slow Down ROI Measurement While Staying on Track?

Spell out the risks for a short-sighted approach: Taking a more long-term view of ROI measurement isn’t about deferring accountability from the marketing department. It’s about getting a clearer and more reliable picture of marketing’s impact. This is a key point to get across to executives. Show them the statistics and explain the circumstances. Also, illustrate the downside and danger of sticking to a short-sighted plan

The risk of measuring ROI too early isn’t only that we’ll fail to get a full picture of marketing’s value, but also that we’ll make faulty decisions based on incomplete data. 

The varying nature of ROI for different tactics: Not all marketing ROI is the same. Content marketing, for example, tends to have a more complicated and indirect connection to revenue; the ROI equation is a far cry from the simplicity of ‘eat candy -> feel happy.’

Content marketing exemplifies the need for a broader and longer-term understanding of ROI. When you can effectively convey the merits of thinking bigger with marketing measurement as a whole, you may find it easier to demonstrably prove out the value of your content strategy.

RoI is a destination, measurement is a journey: Just because you shouldn’t try to definitively measure ROI before your efforts have a proper chance to play out, doesn’t mean you can’t measure anything. Use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to track the journey, show progress, and validate milestones. 

The way we like to put it, in the context of a book: KPIs highlight what happened in each chapter, whereas ROI highlights what happened in the whole story. Or, to use the above metaphor, KPIs are checkpoints on the way to your eventual destination. 

ROI Measurement Can Wait

In fact, it needs to wait. Give your campaigns and programs time to reach fruition and drive action, at a time where business decisions take longer to be reached. Embed a big-picture ROI measurement mentality throughout your organization, from top to bottom, so everyone’s on the same page and using the same yardstick.